


Juncture

by lachtara



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Blood, Episode: s12e09 Ascension of the Cybermen, Gen, Minor Violence, not sorry, the doctor gets a couple of punches in because it's the only way i'll feel vindicated
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:34:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22881832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lachtara/pseuds/lachtara
Summary: She could feel the overwhelming scent of smoke emanating from the portal in front of her, and she could see his ridiculous, maniacal smile as he stood there, waiting for her to do something.
Relationships: The Doctor & The Master (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor & Ryan Sinclair, Thirteenth Doctor & The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 104





	Juncture

**Author's Note:**

> I love my murderous boy but that smug smile was begging for a punch, so...

She had looked for him so long, had spent hours planning everything she’d say to him when she finally found him again. How she’d demand explanations, a reason.

But as he stood in front of her, smug face pulled back in a smirk, everything she had rehearsed escaped her mind. She could only see red, the red of the Gallifreyan sky as the planet burned beneath it. She could feel the overwhelming scent of smoke emanating from the portal in front of her, and she could see his ridiculous, maniacal smile as he stood there, waiting for her to do something.

White hot rage pressed against her throat and she barely registered the snarl that escaped her mouth as she pounced on him, feeling the satisfying crunch of bone beneath her knuckles as she punched his face. If she had hurt her hand as well she couldn’t feel, the only thing she felt was rage, primal, burning, screaming for his blood. His smile only grew bigger, blood lining his teeth.

So, naturally, she punched him again, this time blood began to ooze from his nose. He made no motion to wipe it off, or to try and stop her for the matter. His eyes sparkled with satisfaction and deep down the logical part of her brain was telling her to stop, that she was giving him exactly what he wanted, but she had spent so long holding everything in, focusing on maintaining a semblance of normalcy near the fam while incessantly searching for him, for answers, all the while trying not to see Gallifrey’s ruins every time she closed her eyes.

She was tired, tired of bottling things up, tired of always trying her best and still losing, and she was tired of his smug face. She could feel the sting on her knuckles, now, where the skin cracked, sending tingles up her arm. She flexed her hand, reveling on the feeling and preparing to punch him again. She wanted to punch the smile off his face, she wanted to smash his face against the rocky cliff behind her until he regenerated.

She didn’t get the chance though. As she pulled her arm back a hand rested in it, fingers circling her arm in a soft grip she could easily break out of if she wanted to. But the touch made her pause because she had completely forgotten they weren’t alone. She could see Ethan and Ko Sharmus on her peripheral vision, which meant the hand on her arm was Ryan’s. 

The anger receded just as fast as it had come, being instantly replaced by shame. She had lost control in front of Ryan. How many times had she berated him and told him violence was never the way? _Such a fucking hypocrite_. She turned to him and realized he was talking.

“-ust me, I want to sock him in the face as much as you, but it’s not worth it.” He was looking at her with those soft, human eyes, and she deflated instantly. He let go of her arm but hovered by her side, sending The Master and apprehensive look. “How is he even here? I mean, you told us he’d probably escaped from the Kasaavin, and you were searching for-“

“Me? You were looking for me?” The Master rested his hand on his chest, over his hearts, like he was a swooning schoolgirl, the blood from his nose had dribbled down and curled around his chin, staining his shirt. “Oh, I’m so very flattered.” 

“Don’t be.” Her head was reeling, there was a ship full with an army of Cybermen about to land and she couldn’t deal with this, with him, now. But the answers she had wanted for so long were right there in front of her, she couldn’t let him slither away now, it could be her only chance of ever finding out the truth. “What do you want?”

His smile was all teeth.

“Are you ready for some answers?"


End file.
